A Guide for Cleaning for the Holidays

We can all agree that when it comes to the holidays, there are typically only a few major things on your mind; buying gifts, planning your Christmas dinner, and cleaning the house! 

No one wants to have their family and friends over for the holidays in an untidy and cluttered home, and so we have a simple and easy-to-follow cleaning guide for the holiday season below. Keep in mind that with a little elbow grease and commitment to your holiday festivities, you’ll have your home clean in no time and ready for Christmas lunch or dinner. 

That out of the way, let’s take a look at our guide to cleaning below. 

Lap the House with a Notepad

We know that there are a few spaces in the home that aren't going to be accessible by your guests, and so we say that you can skip these rooms to make your job a little easier. 

However, to make the most of your cleaning activities, we suggest working to do a few laps of your home with a notepad in hand and to make a few notes of which rooms should be tidied and what items need to be cleaned, moved, or thrown away entirely. 

When it comes to throwing things away, there is plenty of help like services such as 1300 Rubbish that make taking care of those big items a little easier. That being said, old furniture and even boxes, etc can be removed without you needing to lift a finger. 

That out of the way, after you’ve traveled your home, you should have a nice list of things to take care of to kick off your cleaning for the holiday season. 

Do a Decluttering

There isn’t too much point in cleaning down surfaces, floors, walls, and decor if your home is still filled with clutter, and with that in mind, we highly suggest taking a look at everything in your home and asking yourself whether it should be there or not. 

Of course, the holidays are a very seasonal affair, and so once the Christmas decor is taken down, your traditional decor can return, though we’re talking about items such as unused decor, old items, and generally ‘stuff’ that you don’t need/want/use any longer. 

Run through a decluttering before you dig into the main deep clean and you’ll be on the way to a cleaner household in no time. 

Get to the Cleaning and Sanitising

Given that there’s likely to be a lot of guests, food, and possibly even pets arriving at your home for the holidays, we suggest going all-in when it comes to cleaning. 

First, we suggest tackling surfaces like the kitchen countertop, tabletops, breakfast bars, vanities, and other surfaces that are hygiene sensitive. Move on to the carpeting and the walls next to and your chairs, sofa, rugs, and ottomans, to start. 

Not only will this help your home foster that clean, fresh smell but will also make your guests feel even more comfortable than they normally would. 

To end, we’d suggest working to clean out your appliances. Things such as the oven, the fridge and freezer, and even your dishwasher and washing machine might be a good idea, especially if you’re having guests stay at your home for a few days or weeks over the holidays. 

Book Your Cleaners for Hard-to-clean Spaces

If you’re anything like us, cleaning those hard spaces like the bathroom and the mudrooms is a pain and almost always seems as though you’ll never truly have it clean. And with this, we prompt you to consider handing this over to the experts. 

Be sure to book cleaners as early as you can to get your home nice and tidy in time for Christmas, and if you can’t get these guys sooner rather than later, you could try your hand at some homemade cleaning solutions like ammonia and dishwashing liquid to descale your bathroom and make it look as best as possible for Christmas day. 

The Minor Touch Ups 

Once all of your homes are tidy, sanitized, and looking nice and neat, we suggest working on your finishing touches.

This means re-decorating and styling the home to suit your holiday, dusting any surfaces you might have missed, and working to spruce up any floral arrangements, throw pillows and blankets, and even the table setting. 

You may even want to work on polishing your silverware and getting your serving ware up to scratch for Christmas day to add that final touch and glisten to your table setting.  

The Takeaway 

All our points above being said, it isn’t too difficult to get on top of cleaning for the holidays this year, so long as you have a plan and are ready to work towards an end goal. 

Cleaning is often one of the trickiest and complicated parts of the holidays and without a doubt takes a lot of discipline to really get on with it. However, with a written plan of action, you’ll be more motivated and have direction to follow to actually get the job done.